Aged for malice, p.14
Aged for Malice, page 14
Marcello’s office door swung wide and he hurried out.
“We have a special guest arriving for a private tasting. Perhaps everyone else can use the restaurant for the next little while,” he said, clearly on exactly the same page as Jean-Pierre.
“Of course!” Looking thrilled to be playing his part in this pivotal event, Jean-Pierre rushed through to the restaurant.
“He is arriving in ten minutes,” Marcello murmured. “He did not mention your name and is not familiar with the winery, so he should not suspect you will be here.”
“It’s sounding positive,” Olivia breathed. She felt taut with nerves.
“You must hide. Behind the counter, perhaps? I will lead the questioning. It will probably be best if I pretend innocence, and he presents his version?”
“I agree. That sounds the best route.”
Remembering that Raul had been lured with the promise of a free case of wine, Olivia took one of La Leggenda’s smart, white-and-gold, branded boxes and hustled into the storage room, filling it with six of the nicest bottles she could find. Based on what she’d seen in the recycling bag, Raul had a particular love for reds, so she included five red wines, and the La Leggenda Metodo Classico sparkling wine.
It gave her a breathless feeling to think that if this went the way she hoped, Raul would be leaving without his wine, and perhaps even in the back of a police van. She placed the box on the tasting room counter, and then jumped as, from outside, she heard the growl of a powerful SUV engine.
“Good luck!” she whispered to Marcello, who nodded solemnly in her direction before composing himself into a demeanor of casual innocence. Olivia dived under the counter, nestling against the fridges as she heard the tramp of incoming feet.
“Buongiorno,” Marcello welcomed the arrival warmly.
“Marcello Vescovi? I am Raul Porzio. You invited me to a free tasting and mentioned a complimentary case of wine?” he said eagerly.
“So I did! You are the first guest to take us up on this special offer. It will be my pleasure to introduce you to our wines. Have you experienced them before?”
“Never. I did not know your winery was of a standard I would consider acceptable,” Raul said. “I only drink very high quality wines and am used to a more expensive price point, although I do see you have some high-end products at the top of your list.”
Bundled up behind the counter, Olivia seethed at this display of wine snobbery. She’d rather have her mother adding lemonade, she thought angrily. At least her mother was being honest and not ridiculously pretentious.
And why was it that these wealthy people who bragged about their money were always the first in line for free stuff, Olivia wondered, glaring at the lemonade bottle that happened to be at eye-level in the fridge under the counter.
Marcello poured the first wine. From the glugging and splashing, she guessed a very generous amount was being dispensed to encourage conversation.
“This is our award-winning vermentino. It is blended with a portion of sauvignon blanc and Semillon for a well-rounded finish that is bursting with fruit nuances while still maintaining a refreshingly dry character.”
“You have succeeded admirably in its balance,” Raul praised.
“Go on, have some more. With a white wine like this you really need a second and third taste to fully appreciate the wine’s vibrancy,” Marcello encouraged.
The sound of a clearly empty wineglass being put down soon followed.
“Now, our rose. When I say this is an easy drinking wine, you will soon see what I mean. It is fragrant, refreshing, and all about summer. I see this tasting bottle is half empty. We might as well finish it! I will join you in the appreciation of this very fine blend.”
The sounds of appreciative swallowing followed.
“I did not realize I was so thirsty today,” Raul observed.
“The rose is a wine that truly quenches the thirst. Now, I am excited to offer you the third wine – our famous Miracolo red. This is the wine that brings most of the tourists to La Leggenda. Being such high quality, I often wonder how well it would last if it was laid down in a cellar for a hundred years or more,” Marcello said.
Olivia pricked her ears, recognizing that her boss was now guiding the conversation to the critical issue.
“You must have heard about that cellar which was found on the land my family used to own?” Raul asked.
“I was away on a mentorship and have only just returned, so I do not yet know all the details. I understand that there was an incident last night. Most troubling,” Marcello said.
“An incident? There was an actual killing, I believe. My family’s historic wines could have been at risk,” Raul corrected him.
“Really? I wonder what could have played out for that to occur. You say they are your family’s wines?”
Raul hiccupped, causing Olivia’s heart to leap. Clearly he’d reached a stage where he might abandon his reserve.
“This Miracolo is delightful. Can I have another glass? They are not legally ours, but I am convinced they should be returned to us. Clearly, our family buried those wines sometime in the past, to hide them. As many have been saying, the current owner, who is an extremely rude blond with no anger management skills, obviously got word of this and decided to buy the land and dig them up.”
“You think?” Marcello sounded as anxious as Olivia now felt. That hadn’t been how it played out at all, but if it was becoming common knowledge, others might try to interfere with pointless lawsuits.
Worse still, he seemed to be indulging in gossip, rather than confessing to the murder. For the first time Olivia felt a flicker of doubt. Had he done it?
“You must have thought about simply seizing the wine,” Marcello said. Olivia let out a sigh of relief. Her boss was getting things back on track.
“I did. Being such an unfair situation, it occurred to me that I should simply take what I was owed.”
Olivia’s eyes bulged with anger. How dare he feel he was owed her wines? Horrible, entitled man. She heard Marcello give an irate snort, which he hastily turned into a cough before continuing his questioning.
“And did you explore that idea further?”
Olivia heard the unmistakable swallowing sound of Raul downing a glass of Miracolo.
“Yes. Yes, as it happens, I did. After finishing my dessert and coffee at the restaurant, I decided I was going to go and remove the wines from her property.”
Clutching at the fridge to stop from toppling backward in astonishment, Olivia felt the situation was on a knife-edge. One more word, just one more word, and he would confess. She was sure of it.
“Then what happened?” Marcello struck exactly the right note with his casually curious tone.
“I went there at about ten-thirty p.m. I parked my SUV on the road. Then I walked through to the field whose whereabouts had been clearly described in the village gossip. It took me a while to find the door. Er, because so much time had passed since my childhood, when I played daily in that field,” he added hastily. “Luckily, I had a flashlight in my trunk which I brought along with me.”
“That was clever,” Marcello praised.
“Basic logic. Not difficult for someone who attended one of the area’s best and most expensive schools,” Raul sneered.
“Even so, that must have been frightening! Did you carry anything with you for protection?”
How clever was Marcello, Olivia marveled, using the moment to inquire if he’d had a weapon, or picked anything up along the way.
Raul sighed. “Unfortunately not. Which as it turned out was a big mistake. When I found the cellar, I realized that this evil money-grabbing woman had locked it up. I couldn’t get in and had brought no tools with me. So I decided I would go back home and collect the right equipment.”
Olivia glowered at the lemonade. How dare Raul say such rude things about her?
“And did you do that?” Marcello asked. The edge to his voice told her he was simmering with anger at the insulting words.
Raul sounded regretful.
“It took me a while to find everything I needed and I had to call my neighbor to borrow a bolt cutter. He was not pleased to be phoned at quarter to midnight and started shouting at me. He even sent me a rude message back. Look!”
A short silence followed. Olivia hoped Marcello was taking note of the time the message was sent.
“Harsh words. Probably because it was so late at night,” Marcello said. Olivia could hear that he agreed with every one of the words.
She felt a thud of disappointment that Raul seemed to have a concrete alibi. Meanwhile, he was continuing with his story.
“I decided I would use a crowbar instead, but the search had wasted a lot of time,” Raul continued. “When I arrived back at the farm, I discovered the place was crawling with police! I hurried away again, sensing there had been a disaster, and I was right. There had been a murder. If I’d timed things differently, I might even have been caught up in it myself. It angered me to think that her selfishness could have put my own life in danger, had I not been lucky with the timing.”
Olivia couldn’t stand to hear another minute of this! Who did he think he was?
Before she could stop herself, or think better of it, she scrambled to her feet.
As her head popped up over the tasting counter, Raul gave an outraged cry.
He didn’t get the chance to utter another word for some time. Opening her mouth, Olivia let him have it.
“I can’t believe the ludicrousness of what I’m hearing. You were trespassing on my farm that night, looking to plunder a stash of wine which I rightfully own. And then when you nearly got caught up in a murder scene, you have the audacity to say that it was because I’m selfish? Me?”
She leaned over the counter. In her wrath she must have appeared terrifying, because Raul stumbled to his feet, tried to take a step back, and almost fell over his stool. Luckily Marcello grabbed his arm, dexterously retrieving the wineglass.
“You know what makes people have anger management problems? Having strangers butt into their life and start claiming their property. How would you feel if I walked into your fancy house and said your overpriced SUV belonged to me? Or that ride-on mower? I could use a ride-on, and yours looks like the one that used to belong to my mother, so it’s clearly my family’s property. I’ll come around later to collect it! That’s exactly what you’re doing. It’s raw greed and let me tell you, it’s disgusting!”
Olivia was starting to feel dizzy after her outburst. She stopped to draw breath.
In the sudden silence that followed, Raul turned to Marcello. He wrenched his arm away.
“Signor Vescovi, I am horrified that you have clearly lured me here under false pretenses, just so that this dislikable woman can abuse me. I am deeply offended. I will certainly not be recommending your winery, or your wines, to anyone in the future. I will leave, now.”
He turned and marched toward the door.
“Signor! Your complimentary parcel,” Marcello called after him.
Raul hesitated and Olivia watched with interest as his greedy desire for free wine warred with his need to make a grand gesture by marching away empty handed.
The wine won.
He spun around, stomped back to the counter, grabbed the box, and headed for the door again. Olivia could almost see the trailing shreds of his dignity following him out.
“I’m sorry,” she apologized to her boss. “I couldn’t stop from saying something. I hope it doesn’t reflect badly on the winery’s name.”
Marcello nodded sympathetically.
“I do not blame you. From the neighbor’s message, it seems Raul is not well liked in the community, so his opinion should not be overly damaging. But sadly, despite trespassing with intent to steal, it is clear he was not the killer. He has an alibi, and was searching for equipment at the time.”
“What a shame,” Olivia sighed.
“I must get back to work now, but let me know if you need my help again.” Marcello gave her an impish grin. “That was fun!”
He headed back to his office at speed. Olivia waved at Jean-Pierre, who waved back through the glass-paned restaurant door. With the suspect gone, Collina Wine Week could now resume in the tasting room and that meant she needed to hotfoot it off the property again.
As she headed out to the parking lot, her phone rang. It was Danilo.
He must be calling to update her on her mother’s visit to Pisa. She hoped it had gone well. Smiling in expectation, she answered.
Her adrenaline spiked when she heard the panic in his voice.
“Quick! There has been a disaster. You need to come back home, as soon as you can!”
CHAPTER TWENTY THREE
What had gone wrong? Frantic with anxiety, Olivia sprinted for her car and zoomed out of La Leggenda.
Scenarios boiled in her imagination. It was already a quarter past two. Had the police arrived early? Were they about to arrest her loyal boyfriend? Visions filled her mind of Danilo at her farmhouse, surrounded by officers, being handcuffed and pushed unceremoniously into the back of a van. She had to get back as fast as she could, and tell the police to arrest her instead.
Danilo was innocent! After all he’d been through, she couldn’t allow him to be locked up. It would be cruel and unfair.
“Just wait for me to get there. Please, wait,” Olivia begged aloud, hoping her frantic thoughts had the power to reach Detective Caputi.
She skidded into the sand road and tore up the hill, swerving through the farmhouse gateway so fast that she came within inches of scraping the Fiat.
Trembling with nerves, she jumped out, but as she did, confusion filled her.
There were no police cars here. Only Danilo’s pickup, which looked polished and pristine.
What was going on?
As she headed for the front door, it burst open. Danilo rushed out, his face taut with anxiety. He hurried over to her.
“I am glad you got back so quick. We have a terrible situation!”
“What is it? What?” Olivia gasped. With no police in sight, her imagination started running wild. Had the wine stash been stolen? Had the cellar collapsed?
“Your mother!” Danilo announced.
“What’s happened to her?” Could this become a bigger nightmare? Olivia’s mind reeled at the possibilities.
“She’s leaving!” Danilo tugged at his hair, which looked spiky and disheveled. He seemed on the point of tears.
“Leaving?” Olivia took an actual step back. “Um – how do you mean? How can she be leaving?”
She tugged at her own hair. It seemed her mother’s behavior was causing an epidemic of this!
“She is.” Danilo sounded frantic. “It wasn’t my doing, I swear. We had fun in Pisa. She seemed happy. She ate an ice cream and I took many photos of the tower for her. We got back about an hour ago and suddenly, now, she asked me to help her bring her bags downstairs, because she’s changed her flight and is heading home!”
Olivia hugged her wonderful boyfriend as tightly as she could.
“Of course it wasn’t you. It’s her. She must have gotten upset for some minor reason. She can be like that. Perhaps I can sort it out.”
Gathering her courage, Olivia stepped into the farmhouse.
There stood Mrs. Glass, in the hallway, with her two valises, which Olivia knew would be methodically packed down to the last undergarment and plastic-wrapped pair of shoes.
“Ah, Olivia,” she said. “You’re back. I didn’t think you would be home today. I was going to leave a note for you. Isn’t that funny? Leaving a note for my own daughter, who I traveled here to be with.”
With her mind racing, Olivia thought she was getting the gist of why her mother was so unhappy.
“You’re leaving because I wasn’t here this morning? But I thought you went on an outing and had a lovely time.”
“Pisa was very pleasant. Angel, it’s a combination of things.” Her mother let out a deep, dramatic sigh. “Firstly, I cannot get my head around the fact you’re just a bartender.”
Olivia opened her mouth to snap out an angry retort, but before she could, Mrs. Glass steamrollered on.
“Just a bartender in a little Italian village. Then I find you’ve been caught up in a murder and the whole of the village has started treating this farm, which I notice is inadequately fenced, as public property. Seeing you don’t even bother closing the gate, I can’t actually blame any of the simple local populace, with their poor command of English and basic understanding of life, for getting the wrong idea.”
“But…” Olivia tried. It was all she had time to say.
“Thirdly, it’s very obvious that you are ignoring me. I would have thought you’d have dropped everything to spend time with me. Although Daniel is a very pleasant man, I did come here to be with you.”
“You didn’t come here to visit with me at all. I know you better than that,” Olivia retorted, glad that her mother had at last paused to take a breath. “You came to convince me to come back to the States!”
“Well, it seems that my efforts to save you from a meaningless existence, frittering your talents away in a remote village that nobody cares about, have been futile,” her mother retorted.
“If you really wanted to save me, you could help me clear my name, since I’ve been caught up in a murder investigation,” Olivia pleaded. “I haven’t been ignoring you. I’ve just had a lot on my plate.”
“Sweetheart, I know nothing about murders. The only way I can help is to convince you to leave this dangerous country, and come back home where it’s safe.”
Wrath surged inside Olivia as she put her hands on her hips and faced her mother down. Surprisingly, even though she was fuming, she found she was able to speak the harsh words in a level, calm voice.
“Mom, the problem is that you have never, ever, since I came here, taken my new life seriously. You’ve never tried to understand it properly even though I’ve done my best to explain. Rather than embracing, you’ve belittled everything about this wonderful place where I live. Which has an incredible history, and has been home to some of the greatest thinkers, artists and poets the world has ever known. It’s a tourist mecca, attracting thousands and thousands of visitors from all over the world and filled with more wonderful sights than I’ll ever have time to see!”
